patrick.net

You can check out these zip codes for a good first overview:

http://patrick.net/housing/cities.php?city=Portland&state=OR

Thanks again! (:

http://www.portlandbridges.com/portland-neighborhoods/01-where-to-live-in-portland.html

http://www.yelp.com/topic/portland-safest-laid-back-neighborhoods-in-portland

Hello,
I am also researching Portland (and Eugene) so finding this thread and recommendations so far were very much appreciated!
For what it is worth I found a neighborhood guide that is on a realtor website:

http://www.portlandcreativerealtors.com/main_Portland_neighborhood_guide.php

Good luck with your search and possible move, and Happy New Year!

Check out "Portlandia". You could live in the "Brunch Village".

HA! I have caught a few shows of Portlandia and Loved it! Portland is so PC they even have a vegan strip club!
However, when me and my son went there this summer, folks were super friendly and helpful there.....really liked it there.

I've lived in and around Portland several times, great city. Portland has so many great hoods it's hard to recommend without more info. You are just going to have to get feet on the ground. Northwest and Hollywood districts are pretty art vibe area's. Try the Office of Neighborhood Involvement web site. http://www.portlandonline.com/oni/ there's lots of info. Be careful of some of the area's further east. There is some day worker/illegal immigrant pockets that are not at all nice.

Walkable and access to max is critical. Portland is the most car hostile city there is, combined with the worst drivers on the planet makes any kind of driving a nightmare. I've never been able to tell if it was granola or meth that made Oregon drivers so bad.

kt says

HA! I have caught a few shows of Portlandia and Loved it! Portland is so PC they even have a vegan strip club!

However, when me and my son went there this summer, folks were super friendly and helpful there.....really liked it there.

Make sure you like rainy, dreary weather. Otherwise a cool city.

If you want the hipster thing you are probably looking at either the Hollywood district which is on the east side of Portland. There is also Sellwood, which is a bit more 'suburbanized', but has awesome old parks and walking trails along the river. There is a very artsy district just to the Northwest of Chinatown, but IMHO it wouldn't be my first choice unless I worked in that area.

What's your price range (own vs rent?), and approx where will you be working? If you are working on the west side (ie Beaverton) you will want to stay on that side of town.

Moderate Infidel says

Make sure you like rainy, dreary weather. Otherwise a cool city.

Actually make sure you can tolerate 4 continuous months of rainy dreary weather. Portland (most years) has 7 months of the best weather you can imagine, 1-2 months of mixed, and 3-4 months of almost daily rain once the winter storms arrive and the weather gets hung up on the Cascades. It's much better if you are a serious skier, since you can console yourself that all the rain in Portland is snow on Mt. Hood.

Thank you everyone! What fantastic resources and personal experience. Please keep it coming. I might be working close to the Oregon Ballet Company and nearby school. 818 SE Sixth Avenue / Portland, OR 97214
(Between Belmont and Morrison)
Is this a walkable neighbourhood? I'd love to be able to walk or bicycle to work.
You never know if the community surrounding a ballet company is an art community or downright scary. The problem being that so much square footage is necessary for the studios. It gets unreasonable in the Bay Area. No sane ballet dancer left SFB without a buddy and pepper spray.

hrhjuliet says

I might be working close to the Oregon Ballet Company and nearby school. 818 SE Sixth Avenue / Portland, OR 97214

(Between Belmont and Morrison)

I know that area, you're about 3 blocks north of Rejuvination. It's a pretty heavily commercial and industrial area. Most certainly not an artsy area. I don't remember many or any Max stops either. There are lots of suppliers of every kind of thing you could need for home renovation in that area (as well as suppliers for pretty much anything), which is why I know it pretty well.

Everything west of MLK to the river is all industrial commercial, with no residential at all. East a couple blocks there is residential but I don't know how good the hood is, it seemed slightly gritty to me. It's only about 10 minute walk from OMSI, which is a great place. There's a good walk along the river starting at OMSI called the Esplanade. You can walk across the Morrison (or Hawthorne I don't remember which) bridge and be at pioneer sq in about 10 minutes also. There's some kind of big botanical garden off 12th or 13th in the area. I'm not saying the area is good or bad for residential, I just don't know, I only went to buy things.

A couple of dozen blocks further north and east toward the Loyd center is pretty nice, Don't know anything about prices. There are very, very few places in Portland you need pepper spray and a buddy at night. Most are west of the airport along Columbia.

From what I know of the area is pretty walkable, everything is bikeable down there, but late at night you do get a fair bit of homeless guys wandering around, but is usually not a big safety issue, mostly property crimes. The closest 'desirable' neighborhoods from there are either about a half mile'ish NE (Laurehurst area), or about the same distance SE (If you look on a steet map you'll see a big X looking thing around Hawthorne and 12th. (Ladd Circle Park and Rose Gardens) From that pretty much down through the Reed College area would be your best bets, although they are pricy. If you want cheaper alternatives just head straight east from the ballet school.

Use Portlandmaps.com for crime data and you can pretty much see the 'good' areas, but home prices/rents go up accordingly.

hrhjuliet says

Thank you everyone! What fantastic resources and personal experience. Please keep it coming. I might be working close to the Oregon Ballet Company and nearby school. 818 SE Sixth Avenue / Portland, OR 97214

(Between Belmont and Morrison)

Is this a walkable neighbourhood? I'd love to be able to walk or bicycle to work.

You never know if the community surrounding a ballet company is an art community or downright scary. The problem being that so much square footage is necessary for the studios. It gets unreasonable in the Bay Area. No sane ballet dancer left SFB without a buddy and pepper spray.

Still moving to Portland?
I'm longtime resident of 97214 and I'd be happy to give you the skinny and if this is way to late, welcome to Portland.